After their first concert in the Netherlands, all the members of Krypteria answered some of our questions, and they did it extremely nicely. We talked about the evolution in the style of the band, from their musical project to their last album Bloodangels Cry, which is clearly heavier than all their previous releases. They also explained to us how they tackle the writing of new material.

Metal-Ways: Was it your first time in the Netherlands?

Cushi: Yes, it was our first time in the Netherlands. That's something that we wanted to do for a long time, especially since we all were born or lived near the Dutch border. It's funny that we didn't make it before, but today we are finally here!

M-W: Could you describe, in your words, the style of the band for people who don't know you.

Cushi: Basically, I think we are a rock band for the lack of a better term. Some people label us as metal. Some say it's gothic... We are a heavy rock band, and we try to combine all the different influences in

the stuff we like, and put it in our music. There are a lot of classic influences, because Ji-In and Chris have studied classical music, and a lot of melodies because we like some of the pop as well... So we try to blend all this together, and that makes this Krypteria sound.
Ji-In: The storyline is "the queen touches the slaves" (laughing)Frank: I'm the queen! :)

M-W: At first they were a lot of different vocalists. Why did you decide to change that?

Cushi: When we started out, it was more like a musical project, like some theatre kind of thing. Chris and I were starting out with it and we wanted to have a lot of different facettes. But after a while, we just thought: why only have a studio project? We wanted to go on stage with it and play our music. And since all our roots are in the heavy genre, we decided that we had to put in all the guitars, but you don't want to carry around seven singers, as we recorded it at first. And the main reason for the decision was that we met Ji-In in 2003. We didn't know her when we recorded our first album and we were just blown away by her talent, by her voice, so we decided: "wouldn't it be great if she could join us?". It was natural... And luckily, she agreed.
Ji-In: And I don't regret it.
Cushi: And basically that's the reason because we feel like, with Ji-In in the band, we don't need any other voices, she can cover all those things, she can be a little girl, she can be a vamp, dangerous, so she can combine all those characters in one, that's the reason why we only need Ji-In.

M-W: Cushi, at the beginning, you were singing on a few songs...

Frank: No, that was me! :)

M-W: No, I recognize his voice now! And you only dropped the idea? Or maybe you're going to do that again?

Cushi: We haven't thought about it yet. But probably now that I've done it, it's up to Chris or Franck to join in and sing a song. But basically this idea haven't crossed our minds again because we feel so comfortable, we have everything we need. We don't say that we won't do it again, but so far it's not in our plans.

M-W: There's been a big evolution in the style of your music. At the beginning, it was calmer, a little less guitars, a little less drums, and with the EP and the last album Bloodangels Cry, it's becoming really heavy. Was it planned? Or did it just happened like this?

Ji-In: We saw that we had a lot of fun on stage. We're so happy on stage! And so we had to put it in the record. It was really natural.

M-W: It will probably evolve again, so do you have some ideas for the future? Are you going to stay metal or will you do a different kind of music?

Cushi: We are happy with this style.
Ji-In: We're feeling really comfortable.
Cushi: It was really natural, that's why we'll probably stick with it. But it doesn't mean that we are not going to try different ideas. But basically, I think we are all very comfortable with like it is right now. That's gonna be our "chorus" for the next, hopefully, 14,15 years.

M-W: How do you explain your success in South-Korea, is it a question of influences, of culture?

Frank: We've been there, they couldn't resist!!!
Ji-In: Yes because of these 3 charming German guys.
Cushi: Ji-In's parents are South-Korean by origin, so the country became interested in Ji-In.
Ji-In: They also saw us here in Germa... hum there in Germany. And they said "Wow! We didn't know there was a band with German musicians and a South Korean singer", and that's what led us to Korea.

M-W: It's your first time in Holland, what were you expecting? Did you like it today? Was it different than in Germany or South Korea?

Cushi: We had a lot of fun! I think that Dutch people know their classical metal very well, so it was challenging to step in front of this audience. They have all those great bands like Within Temptation, Epica, After Forever. So we were kind of nervous, but not too nervous because we felt that people were interested in what we were about. So the reception was great, and everything has happened by itself. Again, it was very natural to us, and since they didn't throw bottles at us, everything is just fine. :)

M-W: How do you compare to all those female fronted Dutch metal bands?

Chris: Of course the thing that we have in common is that we are female fronted, and they are female fronted too. I like After Forever very much, and we saw the first time today Epica, it was really good too. And, I think that Within Temptation is a great band too. I think they all have a music with a lot of melodies. That's what we like too. But it's also different because they often have a male vocalist.

M-W: Do you have some plans for concerts in France?

Ji-In: I love Paris, so I have to go to Paris! I also spent 2 months in La Ciotat, a little town near Marseille and we had a lot of trips to Marseille.
Cushi: Absolutely, we have. A few months ago, we did a photo interview with the magazine Rock One, that was very interesting, and there was some talk about coming to France. Maybe early next year, because I think that neither of us have played in France before, neither with this band, nor with any other band, so that's going to be even more special than today, because the 3 of us (looking at Chris & Franck), we had played in the Netherlands before, with different bands. But neither of us has ever played in France.

M-W: I was going to ask a stupid question...

Frank: That one's on me!!! :)

M-W: ...before I saw you today, I watched your video clips, and you guys are wearing little microphones, and I was wondering if you were really singing on stage, and of course I saw you today, and I had my answer.

Frank: I'm so thirsty (touching his throat...), really, I gave it all!!!
Ji-In: Yes, he was screaming all the time, that was so hot! (laughing)

M-W: Do you know what will be the next single?

Cushi: We're not thinking about singles that much. We are now thinking about the next album. Right now, we're still very busy and excited with Bloodangels Cry, but very soon, we'll start writing some new material. That's how we approach our music, it's not necessarily like: "we should write a single". Basically, it's another sort of evolution. We put our ideas together, and we get an idea of where the new album might be heading. So that's were our priorities are, trying to create the best album, 10 or 12 songs that really make a statement altogether. And if there's one song that stands out, that's always good.
Ji-In: You have to know that fantasy is very important to us. We've got a lot of stories going around in our heads. Yes, maybe we should record them again, like we did in Bloodangels Cry.

M-W: Who is writing the lyrics?

Ji-In: When we are collecting, we're all together. But the head, the songwriter that puts it all together, and makes it clear, it's Cushi.
Cushi: What we do, especially with Bloodangels Cry, is that we're telling our stories, so basically, it's just like we're all on the same page with them. We all have the same vision, because we're talking about experiences we had last year with our career manager, who tried to break up the band. He tried to tear Ji-In away from us. He didn't stop from doing cruel stuff. It was really rough. So why not write an album about this experience? We didn't want to be too particular, so that everybody will feel alienated and say: "What are those guys talking about?" You always try to put it into special words, so that everybody can take something from it, for himself. That's the idea behind the last album. Basically what you're feeling is our experiences and thoughts on that matter.

M-W: Some of the band members, when they are asked what their funniest memory on stage is, talk about the time when you Ji-In, lost your top on stage, what do you want to answer them? :)

Ji-In: Yes... so first, for me it wasn't funny! (laughing) It was like the show was only like "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!!!" And then...
Frank: Haha, then I did a good job!
Cushi: She was carrying on fantastically. She was laughing and having a good time, she was trying to hold herself up, and still continuing to perform. If it has been embarrassing to her, we wouldn't mention it that often, but we saw that she had a good time with it.
Ji-In: I had to laugh all the time, but I was really like "Oh my god, what's happening??!" but I had to go on.
Cushi: That's funny, because we didn't talk about it yet within the band, but today, we were playing, I was looking at Ji-In, and I saw that her corsage was opening up...
Ji-In: When?!!! Today???
Cushi: Absolutely. You had all those laces hanging down, so once again...
Frank: Ahah! Me again!
Ji-In: Ok, I have to think about it...
Cushi: So it was that close that today, we would have had another of one of our famous experiences...
Ji-In: Ok, I have an idea. (to the guys) You will wear corsages, and then I will prepare them.
Cushi: (to Ji-In) You know that Franck's going to do it, in a second, so don't get him started! :)

M-W: Is there something you want to add, or say to the future fans? French people, or other people that don't know you yet?

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